I've got a group of 3 Acei that are all the same size approx 12cm tl. They are the only 'group' of species I have that haven't spawned so I'm assuming they're all the same sex. Is there any way to tell the sexes apart? They look the same to me! One in particular of the group seems to get into scraps with the dominant A.latifasciata and often has a couple of sore spots or missing scales. The other 2 are never in fights. Would pics help or is there just no way to tell the sexes apart? I recently purchased 3 juvie Acei to add to the group but they arrived much smaller than what the website had said so I'm growing them up separately for a while until they get big enough to handle the main tank!
Any advice would be appreciated, thanks :)Posted via Mobile Device

lakemalawifish

11-25-2012 05:09 PM

Other than venting (there are video's on youtube on how to vent your fish to determine sex) Acei's do not have visible differences between male and female. At 4-5" they should be large enough to vent, but some fish are just hard to tell even at large sizes because of their coloration, etc. With that group you have, one or two males will start showing dominance, i.e. doing the shaky dance, chasing after one particular fish and chasing the other fish away. But don't be fooled, sometimes males will do the shaky dance with another male. You may have to wait until you have a fish holding, or actually see them spawn to know for sure.

Tazman

11-25-2012 08:31 PM

Agree that the only sure way to be sure is to vent them.

It is not that hard but remember to be as quick as possible, about 1 minute or less out of water is all they can really handle without being severely stressed.

DrivingMissFishy

11-25-2012 08:42 PM

I've had them since they were about 1/2" and I haven't seen any dances or anything yet but they do like hanging out together! Next time I do a big water change & vac ill try and vent them, if I can ill take pictures so you guys can help me! Thanks for the infoPosted via Mobile Device

Tazman

11-25-2012 09:34 PM

Basically when you vent them, Males will have two identical size holes on the underside and females will have a Large and small one.

lakemalawifish

11-26-2012 12:54 AM

I have seen some people use the collection containers (the clear acrylic ones pet stores use to put fish in before they bag them) if the fish is not to large to fit in the container. Hang it on the side of the tank and look underneath. I have thought about trying this before and possibly using a hand magnifier and flash light to see better because with some fish it is hard to see their vents.